


Inconsistent Descriptions of Curtains

by Kae_the_Minish_Bandit



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Gen, Hero's Tunic, Hyrule Historia - Freeform, Legend's house apparently has a secret room no one found, Link's House (A Link Between Worlds), Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), hey look the minish are here, so i tried to not break the fourth wall (i swear) but i broke it anyway, spoiler: shadows back, using 'frick' and 'heck' as curse words with one exception
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27615848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kae_the_Minish_Bandit/pseuds/Kae_the_Minish_Bandit
Summary: Regaining some of his iconic composure, Vio tried to school his expression repeatedly before finally succeeding."I'm sorry, what?"Shadow simply let out a laugh. "Hah!"~~This is another gift fic for the LU Artist Appreciation Project, this time for Jit!
Relationships: Blue Link & Green Link & Red Link & Shadow Link & Vio Link, Four & Legend (Linked Universe), Shadow Link & Vio Link
Comments: 1
Kudos: 62





	Inconsistent Descriptions of Curtains

**Author's Note:**

> This was super fun to write! The piece of work was some art of Vio and Shadow that Seeking DM'd me!  
> Heavily edited by swiperade, who you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiperade/pseuds/swiperade . Thank you so much for making something even vaguely comprehensible out of my chaos.

Vio turned page after page after page in the book known as the Hyrule Historia. The massive green book was heavy, sure, but the information inside it was priceless. It contained information on the already confusing timeline. At his point in time, it was considered a lost artifact. In Legend’s era, apparently it had been recovered. Vio _definitely_ wasn’t going to let this opportunity slide by.

This book was slightly more faded than the emerald green described in fairy tales back home, but that wasn’t particularly surprising, given how much time had passed.

The pages were glossy, and the images depicted were not particularly realistic. Vio had shrugged it off as the fact that they were drawings. They didn't have to be incredibly realistic. This was supposed by the fact that Wind had been drawn similarly to Vio and his brothers, with a _very_ large head to body ratio. Most of the others had been drawn with large eyes, but other than that were mostly drawn to scale. There was also the noticeable absence of Warriors and Wild from the timeline presented in the book. He’d have to ask about that later.

Their entire story was written in perfect detail for the entire world to see, save a few things about Shadow, or, _y'know_ , all of their personalities. Maybe more was left out then he had originally thought. It was a wonder Legend hadn’t questioned them about their swords more than he already had.

There was a stack of notes in the back, which seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle, although the convergence of the timeline didn’t make sense, nor did the convergence.

It looked as though it was a compilation of theories as to where Warriors and Wild fit into the timeline.

All in all, it was still confusing and made no sense. Did that stop Vio? No. He began to jot down in a notebook a lot of the information. His handwriting could only be described as a scribble. In Vio’s defence, there's a lot of information to write down, but that doesn’t excuse what apparently pass for words. Nevertheless, it works for Vio.

“So then since the land was flooded, that would be the rock salt….. but that corpse is from this timeline. Why was _that_ changed? Oh, people thought… that. Ah. But then which timeline are we from. So, prolonged stasis possibly? That wouldn’t explain Dot being with us. The kingdom itself could have been lifted out of time, I suppose…”

Vio went on like that for about half an hour. The continued mutterings of the boy dressed in purple made it seem as if there are spirits waiting in the dark, whispering softly. Though in actuality, there actually was someone there. Someone incredibly dramatic. Someone who had been stuck to Vio like the spiky balls that fall from trees and are really annoying between the eras. Just like the burrs, Vio had no idea that someone was there.

The musty curtains let miniscule slivers of light enter the room, which made it look spooky, if Vio said so himself. He was excited to see what the other Colors were going to think about the atmosphere of the room when, if ever, he showed them. It reminded him a lot of-

No, he’s not going to go there.

On the other hand, it felt amazing to be back in the clothes he wore on his adventures. They had seen it in Legend's house and so they had just snatched it immediately, on impulse. Legend didn't seem to care whatsoever. He had essentially just raised an eyebrow and moved on. Still, Vio thought it _was_ still a bit strange that Legend just had them lying around.

Legend, on the other hand, had claimed he had seen it around Four's house and had said that _he_ had snatched it, but no part of Four believed that for a second. It was just a bit too.... convenient for their taste.

For one, the clothes were a bit paler. Could they be replicas? That _still_ wouldn't explain why Legend had seemed a bit scared when Four had wanted the set.

"Yeah, I took them from your house when we were there in your era."

"We've been there once and I'm pretty sure I've thrown then out." ~~Definitely not because it reminded them of Shadow, although most things these days did. It _could_ also be because they had the same face. ~~

For a minute, there was only silence.

"Well you must have been mistaken."

"Somehow we don't think so."

"We?"

"I _must have_ misspoken."

Needless to say, Legend's eye followed Four until the smithy could slip away. This only reinforced Four's confusion. Why did Legend care so much about a set of clothes he claimed to have snatched from _Four's_ house? Since the stack of clothes he had taken were almost too much to hold, he knows it’s got to be pretty suspicious, given that almost none of them have changed on this journey so far.

Apparently, Red had thought that it would be a great idea to cut their hair like it had been on their adventure. This was agreed to by all four of them, although for some it took more persuasion than others. 

Vio got distracted by his thoughts as he realized something that seemed obvious in hindsight; they had looked almost exactly like Wind on their adventure. _Wait what-_

Why?

Some divine prank, Vio supposed. There was no way to be sure, but that seemed like a pretty solid theory to him. Although, to be fair, he _was_ the conspiracy theorist.

~~Thinking back on it, Red had really done a terrible job cutting hair. There was that one part in the back that stuck out _really_ weirdly. Why in _Hyrule_ did he agree to that again? ~~

Examining the drawings of himself, his brothers, and Wind, Vio could spot no differences. It's a similarity that you would only notice if they both had the same haircut. Which they do.

Of course the curious mind never _could_ stay on one thing for long, Vio being no exception. He switched from comparing Wind and himself and started to think about how they appeared to the other Links. Which gradually, with topic change after topic change, led him to the topic of Dark and Shadow Links. The topic every part of Four had been trying to avoid. Vio was actually the one who had specifically tried to steer them away from the discussion, although he himself was fully invested in the topic.

"Given how they're described, they're usually enemies. What makes Shadow different? A different source of power or something? But what would set him apart except for the fact that he had clearly better hair?"

"Well for one, I'm the most dramatic."

Which was actually true, even without his current entrance as evidence. The aforementioned shade had _finally_ gained a corporeal form. In almost everyone’s opinion, it had taken long enough.

Shadow had stepped out from Vio's shadow and had snuck to the rather heavy curtains and let them drape across his shoulders in a way reminiscent of a blanket or a cape. ~~Yes, they _had_ been previously described as musty, but in some places the author couldn't care less about consistency. Just imagine they're different sets of curtains that got magically swapped out. ~~

Vio turned quickly, hoping with all of his heart that it was who he thought it was, and he wasn't disappointed. 

“Despite having wondered for months about what could happen if, no, _when_ he would see Shadow again Vio was still rather surprised at the sight of his friend.” Shadow saw fit to act as the narrator in this instance, and it was worth

 _Shadow, the fourth wall is a thing for a freaking reason._ But he was, in fact, right. Vio's mouth was opened comically wide. He seemed to be incredibly shocked.

Regaining some of his iconic composure, Vio tried to school his expression repeatedly before finally succeeding.

"I'm sorry, _what?_ "

Shadow simply let out a laugh. "Hah!"

Vio was clearly very confused by the situation, but he attempted to smile along, though his smile was a bit less animalistic. It also was a bit more awkward than Shadow's, which was unsurprising. The poor boy had no clue what was going on.

Vio was actually quite curious as to why Shadow was hiding in the curtains. (God tier curtains, they looked very nice, although he could have sworn they were disgusting a minute ago.)

As soon as he thought the previous thought, he thought something else that made him think the first thought was rather stupid and that this thought was much better. The aforementioned thought was the realization that 'Wait, he's still a shadow and can't be in sunlight.'

_Why was he facepalming so many times today?_

The impact of the event finally seemed to sink in. One would have thought it would have happened at any point since Shadow had appeared, but the mind is a very strange thing. Knowing the information and fully believing it are two very different understandings. He had of course _known_ Shadow was back, but he hadn't had sufficient time to fully process it.

"Wait, Shadow, how the _heck_ are you here?"

"Magic." Shadow’s response came across as sarcasm, but it was about as truthful as an answer would get. But to be fair, both Vio and Shadow dealt in sarcasm, so assuming Shadow was being sarcastic was a pretty safe bet.

Vio, as always, was not satisfied with this answer, but let it slide, just this once. "So long as you didn't do any horrible voodoo stuff to get back, I'm fine with it."

"Um, so _about_ that-"

"Shadow I swear to the goddess Hylia if you did anything bad I'm disowning you."

"Sheesh, I was joking."

"You better be." Vio gave a look that can only be described as the most hostile side-eye ever given. It was amusing to Vio to see Shadow make a bit of a face at the look, which was given as affectionately as any dorks like Vio could manage.

When Vio gave it a second look, however, oh by the Three, he's probably overanalyzing it again he found it pretty concerning how shy Shadow looks. He was very clearly as much of a prankster as ever, but there was an edge to him that seemed far too sad and remorseful to be the same person as the shade with all that bravado.

"Are you okay." _Yeah no, you are very clearly not okay._ When, if ever, Vio asked that question, it would be answer enough.

"No, what do you think? I'm actually as good as anyone could expect, given that I died after betraying my original cause, only to watch my best friend fall into a depressive spiral, believing I was dead, while I was there the entire time, desperately trying to communicate, and you guys kept trying to revive me as I myself didn’t know I wasn’t dead in the first place? But anyway so I was watching you be sad and you guys know I've been there literally every time, I've _been there_ , watching everything go down-"

Somehow Shadow had managed to say all of this with one breath, taking on a very hysterical undertone, and it hit Vio how much Shadow had gone through. Sure, the rest of Four had been very sad, himself even more so, but Shadow had watched it all happen, unable to do anything.

"I-" Vio immediately walked over to give Shadow a hug, because we all know that the little emo gremlin needs to be showered with love from time to time, even if Red was better at hugging.

It was just a fact.

So what did Vio do?

He went to go look for Red and the other colors.

This was much easier said than done, as they were scattered throughout Legend's house with no methods of communication. _Excellent planning, Vio._

Gathering up his belongings, which was actually only one belonging as it was only his hat that was left behind, Vio made to exit the room.

"Wait where are you going?" Confusion was etched across Shadow's face. Hadn't he just said hi to Vio and that was all? Did Vio just not care anymore?

"Oh, right." Apparently people couldn't hear the purple hero’s inner monologue. How shocking. Vio turned around, and walking backwards toward the exit of the room, hastily told Shadow why he was doing so. "Well, I figured the others would like to see you. They missed you too, you know."

Vio almost made it out of the room alive, but sadly tripped over a stack of books that was lying on the ground. "Frickfrickfrickfrickfrick." _This is why you shouldn't walk backwards, kids_ , he thought to himself. If anybody happened to be watching him, they would get a stellar example of what _not_ to do.

This left a flustered Shadow in the room. _Did they really care that much about him?_

Now out of the room, Vio knew that the others were probably Minish-sized, and wasted no time in shrinking. It didn't take very long to find Red, Green, and Blue as they were talking to the Minish that lived in Legend's house. This was where Vio was headed either way, as it would have been a great place to get the tea on Legend's house, specifically whatever was going on between Legend and his odd merchant friend. 

Despite the fact it took him less than a minute to find the colors, he had a joke planned that he wasn't going to _not_ use. What better time than now?

"Were you having fun running around with the tardigrades?"

Okay, so _maybe_ it isn't a super funny joke, and it makes fun of himself as well as the colors and the Minish, but it had no ill intent behind it.

_That's all a lie the joke isn't funny at all-_

Blue and Green are the height of confusion just by the word tardigrade. Red, surprisingly, knows exactly what Vio is talking about.

"Oh you mean water bears? Those things are so hecking cute. The 'lil babeys~"

Vio has to cough to hide a laugh. Of course Red would find them adorable. Green and Blue are both horrified. ~~Why do they keep having almost exactly the same reactions?~~

"The _whats_?"

"You know, the microscopic organisms that look can survive open space?" Neither Blue nor Green showed any sign of recognition. "The ones that look like they have gas masks on?"

"Oh! Those!"

So 'gas masks' just happend to be the magic phrase that makes them remember the tardigrades. That's rather funny to Vio, given that he's not sure that gas masks exist in this era.

“You guys follow me, or you’ll lose your kneecaps-”

“We’re the same height, Vio.”

“Mmmhmm, _and_?” 

Needless to say, all the other colors feared for their kneecaps that night. Vio could be very threatening when he felt like it.

It took much longer to find their way to the room that Vio started in than it took Vio to find them. This was most likely because Vio hadn’t been paying attention to where he had been going, which _was_ a bit suspicious, but they shrugged it off as Vio simply being tired. This was not the case, although it was a pretty good reason. Vio _was_ a master of sleep crimes. 

He just wanted to be the vague one.

"Wow Vio, you really have the whole 'hey look I'm edgy but also nerdy' aesthetic going on in here." To be fair, it’s not _his_ room, so that comment would imply that _Legend_ was the edgy one. Excellent. This would serve as payback for all those jokes about Four being short. 

"May I present to you, Shadow, live from the shadows-" Vio strikes a pose that’s a bit dramatic, but is cut off by several of the colors saying things along the lines of ‘holy frick!’ and ‘what the heck’. Except for the fact that their language was a bit more…. colorful. 

"I'm sorry, _what_ . Was that meant to be a _pun?_ "

“The shadows thing?”

“No the thing about colors- wait never mind.” He paused to face you, the reader. “You know, you could at least _try_ to not break the fourth wall. Please pass that message on to the author. I mean, granted, she’s the one writing this, but _still._ ”

This part is said substantially quieter, so as to not alert the colors to the existence of the fourth wall. One could say he was semi-successful in this, but _back to your regularly scheduled plot._

It takes all of 5 seconds for Shadow to be attacked by hugs from not only Red, but Green and Blue as well. 

Vio stands off to the side, saying something rather reminiscent of that one kid from the Magic School Bus. “Here we go again. More love for Shadow or hippity hoppity your kneecaps are my property. I’d like to say I learn from Ravio.”

Legend happened to walk into the room at that very moment and his only reaction was to throw his hands in the air.

“Four what the fu-?”

**Author's Note:**

> The doc for this is called "*Pretend I Put Something Funny Here*". Personally, I think this is an improvement.  
> As always, have an amazing day, and Jit, I'm very glad I had the honor of getting to write for you!


End file.
